1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which controls a video signal reproduced from a video compact disc to gradually fade in or out on a screen and generate a screen fade effect in a video disc reproducing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, video compact discs (hereinafter, referred to as "video disc") are widely used as a disc-shaped information recording medium for recording video information of moving pictures and audio information. For example, video discs have video-song, i.e., karaoke, programs for video-song practice, movie programs, video and audio information of programs for learning foreign languages, which are recorded thereon after being processed by a data compression algorithm such as Moving Picture Experts Group (hereinafter, referred to as "MPEG") system.
FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram for showing the configuration of a conventional video disc reproducing system. As shown in FIG. 1, the video disc reproducing system such as a video disc player for reading out and reproducing the recorded information from the video disc, includes a spindle motor 20, an optical pickup 40, a servo controlling section 60, an amplifying section 80, a compact disc digital signal processing (hereinafter, referred to as "CD-DSP") section 100, a CD-ROM decoding section 120, a MPEG video decoding section 140, a digital to analog converting (hereinafter referred to as "DAC") section 160, a function setting section 180, and a controlling section 200.
Spindle motor 20 rotates a video disc 10 at a constant speed. Optical pickup 40 irradiates the laser beam onto video disc 10 and reads out video and audio signals in order to provide a read video and audio signal 41.
Amplifying section 80 amplifies read video and audio signal 41 from optical pickup 40 and provides an amplified video and audio signal 81. CD-DSP section 100 digitally signal-processes amplified video and audio signal 81 from amplifying section 80 into a serial data stream and provides a first signal-processed signal 101.
CD-ROM decoding section 120 CD-ROM-decodes first signal-processed signal 101 from CD-DSP section 100 into user data and provides a CD-ROM-decoded signal 121. MPEG video decoding section 140 decodes CD-ROM-decoded signal 121 from CD-ROM decoding section by a MPEG system and provides an MPEG-video-decoded signal 141 which corresponds to restored chrominance and luminance signals.
DAC section 160 converts MPEG-video-decoded signal 141 into an analog signal and provides RGB signal 161. Function setting section 180 is installed in a control panel as a part thereof or is formed as a remote control unit and sets a reproducing function of video and audio signals recorded on video disc 10, a stop function of the reproduction operation, or a selection operation for a video-song, in order to provide a function setting signal 181.
Controlling section 200 inputs function setting signal 181 from function setting section 180 and provides first, second, third and fourth control signals 201, 202, 203 and 204. Controlling section 200 applies first control signal 201 to servo controlling section 60 and controls the servo operation of servo controlling section 60. Controlling section 200 applies second control signal 202 to CD-DSP section 100 and controls the operation of CD-DSP section 100. Controlling section 200 applies third control signal 203 to CD-ROM decoding section 120 and controls the operation of CD-ROM decoding section 120. Controlling section 200 applies fourth control signal 204 to MPEG video decoding section 140 and controls the operation of MPEG video decoding section 140.
Servo controlling section 60 inputs first control signal 201 and provides first and second servo control signals 61 and 62. Servo controlling section 60 applies first servo control signal 61 to optical pick up 40 and servo controls the driving state of optical pickup 40. Servo controlling 60 applies second servo control signal 62 to spindle motor 20 and servo controls the driving state of spindle motor 20.
As described above, video signals which are read out from video disc 10 by optical pickup 40 are successively signal-processed and are finally outputted from DAC section 160 as RGB signal 161 while passing from amplifying section 80 to DAC section 160. RGB signal 161 is reproduced as a picture having high resolution by CRT (cathode-ray tube) equipment (not shown in FIG. 1).
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,443 (issued to Mogamiya et al.) discloses a still video apparatus including picture and sound fading in which a picture of an object and a sound respectively recorded on a recording medium as an electrical picture signal and a sound signal, are reproduced. The still video apparatus includes a picture reproducing device which reproduces the picture signal and the sound signal recorded on the recording medium, a picture fading device which fades the picture signal reproduced by the picture reproducing device, and a sound fading device which fades the sound signal reproduced by the picture reproducing device.
However, in the aforementioned video disc reproducing system, the picture suddenly appears on the screen at the beginning of the reproduction or disappears during the stopping of the reproduction. Consequently, since the spectral luminous efficacy decreases by half, a viewer tends to feel unnatural or strange.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,433 is restricted in application thereof to still video apparatuses such as still video cameras or still video players which record or reproduce an image of a picture and a sound as electrical signals (picture signals and sound signals) on and from a magnetic disc (video floppy).